The Ice Cap RaceIt All Ends Here
by thrashbandicoot01
Summary: The Ice Cap Race is here. Sonic and Knuckles bring someone back to stop Shadow from being a puppet for Rouge and Eggman. Amy, Tails, and Sticks compete their first race. A former CIA agent returns to racing to mend a past bond with Sonic and Knuckles. Third and final installment of the Super Sonic Racing Trilogy.
1. Prologue

It was before the Ice Cap Race. A human man was sitting in a luxurious apartment overlooking Station Square. He was smoking smuggled Cuban cigars and drinking Japanese sake. There was a knock on the door. He snuffed out the cigar and answered it. Standing at the door, there was a lavender and white fox. He had a big silver earring in his left ear and a tie dye bandana.

"I see you cut your hair" the man said.

"I'm 33. It was time for something different" the fox replied. He was invited in and was offered a cigar and sake. He took both.

"Antonio Mucciolio. I never thought I'd see you again" the man said. Antonio looked up at the man after a puff on the cigar. Antonio sighed.

"I heard you wanted to get back into racing" he said.

"Correct. I want to fix the damage of the past seven years" the man said.

"Why?" Antonio asked. The man leaned back. He closed his eyes.

"As you may know, 12 years ago, Sonic and Knuckles were 5 years old and they looked up to 13 year old me. We were friends, you know. But I knew that Eggman was there. I joined the CIA and faked my death." the man said.

"Jeremy, I know all this. Your little brother Miles wasn't born yet" Antonio said. Jeremy Prower took a sip of sake.

"I want to right the wrongs. I want to mend the gap that was formed" he explained. Antonio leaned back in his chair while taking a long draw on his cigar.

"You can't. The damage has been done" he said flatly. Antonio poured himself another glass of sake while Jeremy looked at him in disbelief.

"Why not?" Jeremy asked. Antonio looked Jeremy dead in the eyes. He shook his head.

"You can't. The damage has been done and they will never forgive you. I don't know how many times I am going to repeat myself on this" he said. Jeremy looked at the calendar.

"I'm entering the Ice Cap Race with you" he said. Antonio looked shocked.

"I've been out of racing myself for a few years. I was in a coma for 2 years after that crash in Catalonia while racing Formula 1 for Alfa Romeo" he said. Jeremy gave him a look of disapproval.

"We are entering. I have two cars prepared for us" he said. Antonio looked uneasy. He took another long draw on the cigar.

"I'll do it. Show me the cars tonight while I'm here" he said uneasily. Jeremy smiled for the first time in seven years.


	2. Practice Session Encounter

Sonic put up his new trophy. He just won the Snake Mountain Rally. It was a pretty easy race, like Outlinnen and Dragonic Republic. He won in a Ryback Cyclone, which is essentially a kit car for the Alpine A610. He looked at his calendar and saw the Ice Cap Race was coming up. He remembered he had to meet Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Sticks at the local race track for practice. The latter three were preparing for their first race.

Now, Tails has been on many races before with Sonic. But, this race was special. It was his first as a driver. He was driving a Caterham S7. It had the number 7 and was the same color as Tails. Sonic hopped into his car and raced off to the Fontana Raceway. He pulled up into the infield garages. Knuckles was there tuning his Dodge Intrepid R/T. He loved that car. It was the same red as him, with the number 32 adorning the doors and hood. Amy was running a pink 1979 Chevrolet Nova with the number 5. Sticks was running a cream colored Callaway Corvette Speedster bearing the number 98.

"What's up?" Sonic asked as he hopped out his car. Knuckles slid out from under his car.

"Sonic! You're here!" he exclaimed. Tails sprinted over from his garage.

"Let's go racing" he told Sonic. They were running quick practice runs against each other around the 1.75 mile oval track. They were running decently. Knuckles took Sonic aside during the lunch break.

"I want you to run a few laps with this new supercharger I got you" he told Sonic. Sonic just shrugged.

"I have nothing to lose" he told Knuckles. Sonic installed the supercharger and hopped into the car. He raced onto the track and began turning the fastest laps he'd run all day. Then, a black car raced through the infield access tunnel and out onto the track.

"Who's that?" Sticks asked.

"That's Shadow! He races dirty!" Tails exclaimed in response. Shadow motored his black Acura NSX next to Sonic. He then turned sharply to the left, flipping Sonic over. He stopped and got out of his car.

"What gives?" Sonic asked angrily as he crawled from his overturned car.

"I'm back now, you see. I took a break after Trans-France. I've been working on personal issues" he replied. Everyone else ran over. Shadow had a smirk on his face. His jet black car featured white circles on the doors and hood with the number 0 in them. This was his new number.

"Shadow, you can bet your black ass we'll beat you in the Ice Cap Race!" Amy yelled. Shadow laughed.

"You? Beat me? Tell that to your faker friend" he scoffed. He got back into his car and drove off.

"What a douche bag. I'm pretty sure we can win" Sticks said. Sonic looked at her with uncertainty.

"I don't know. He's one of the fiercest competitors I've raced against" he said. Knuckles nodded.

"Remember 3 years ago? The Cameron 300? Man, that was a hard fought race we ran against him" Knuckles said. He flipped Sonics' car over.

"I'll help you fix the damage. And, I found a way to make Shadow good again" he said aside to Sonic.


	3. Shadow

Shadow felt lonely. He felt like he was nothing more than a puppet for Eggman and Rouge. Eggman was released early from Sing Along Prison because of good behavior. He felt used. Surrounded by people and no one to call a friend. He did have a friend. But, she's been dead for 56 years.

Her name was Maria. She was the granddaughter of Gerald, daughter of Michael and Rachel, sister of Danielle and Quinn, and cousin of Eggman (real name Dr. Ivo Robotnik). Shadow remembered all the good times they had on the ARK, a space station commissioned by G.U.N. Maria suffered a terminal illness, and was stuck on the ARK. But, when Doctor Gerald Robotnik (PHD, Harvard University) agreed to terminate the project, everyone was ordered to be killed and Maria hid Shadow in a stasis tube, where he remained for 50 years. His physical age is 21.

Shadow wept at the happy times aboard the ARK. When he was still aboard the ARK, he entered quarter midget races on Earth to please himself and give Maria some hope for a cure for her disease. When he was discovered by Rouge, he continued racing to keep the promise he made to become world champion. There was a knock on his door. It was Eggman.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded. Eggman was taken aback by the hostility. He pushed up his sunglasses.

"I want you to find me something" he said. Shadow looked down. He realized all the things he did for Eggman were for the money. He and Rouge offered him crazy amounts of money for failed missions.

"Tell me. It's another Chaos Emerald to power an invention that will fail" he said. Eggman looked sternly at Shadow.

"This time, it will work. I will pay you 20 million dollars" he said. Shadow glumly accepted the offer. He realized a change was in order. So, he picked up his phone and called up the CIA.


	4. Finding Maria

Sonic was sitting next to Knuckles, revving the engine on the Intrepid. Sonic was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Are you sure she's alive?" he asked. Knuckles turned to Sonic.

"I'm sure she is. Her father Michael saved her, and her brother Quinn took the bullets" he said. Sonic looked at the photo he had. He felt kind of sad, as Shadow and Maria seemed close. Knuckles floored it and began driving through the forest.

"Just where are we going?" Sonic asked. Knuckles laughed.

"To the old launch pad" he replied. Then, they pulled up to the old launch pad. It looked like it hasn't been used in years. The buildings were branded with the logo for G.U.N. It featured a whole mission control center and a rocket on the launch pad. Knuckles parked the Intrepid and he jumped out with Sonic.

"Here's the Frontline Beach Space Jump Center. We have to use the rocket, as the old elevator spire was destroyed" Knuckles said to Sonic. Sonic walked up the steps to the rocket, taking a spacesuit with Knuckles. They got in the rocket.

"How are we going to get up there?" Sonic asked. Knuckles lost his look of determination.

"I don't know. I never I thought I'd get this far" he said. Sonic facepalmed. Knuckles began activating switches on the control panel. He pressed a red button and flipped a couple of switches. Then, a rumble.

"We're launching!" Sonic exclaimed. Knuckles gulped nervously.

"Let's hope we have lift off" he said. Then, the rocket lifted off with a large thrust. The rocket, in the dead of night, launched straight up into the air. Knuckles set the autopilot for the ARK space colony. The detached the pod and docked on the old, decrepit docking pod.

"We need to activate the artificial gravity and oxygen tanks. They're somewhere in here" Sonic said. He and Knuckles wandered with their helmet flashlights activated.

"Here they are" Knuckles said, turning them on. They took off their spacesuits.

"Where is she?" Sonic asked.

"Follow me" Knuckles replied. They were walking through the hallways, which featured large windows overlooking Mobius. There were narrow access tunnels to different sections. The lights were flickering on and off. Parts were falling apart. Then, they looked out over a room of cryogenic chambers.

"Chamber 1 is empty" Sonic said. Knuckles nodded and kept going. Chamber 2 was empty, so was Chamber 3.

"Maybe she really is gone. Maybe there is no hope for Shadow" Sonic said. Knuckles laughed aloud and shook its head.

"There are two more chambers of cryo tubes. There's hope" he said. At this point, not even Sonic was sure.

"She was shot by a 357 magnum. Those are big bullets" he said. Knuckles looked at Sonic.

"Her father Michael saved her. He removed the bullets and stitched the wounds all while her brother Quinn got shot by a firing squad of 12 gauge shotguns. Pretty intense video from the security cameras" Knuckles said. Sonic sighed.

"We'll keep looking for her" he replied. Chamber 4 was odd. The lights were off. There was an icy blue glow in one of the tubes. The two walked up to it.

"Whoa! It's her!" Sonic shouted.

"I can't believe we found her" Knuckles replied. Maria was there. She had her long, flowing blonde hair and white dress. She looked so peaceful.

"She looks so peaceful" Sonic whispered. Knuckles pushed a green button on a mini console next to the tube.

"We'll wait it out. There is an hour before she wakes" Knuckles said.

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"It takes a while to unfreeze and wake up" he replied. Sonic sat down on the floor.

"We could be sleeping so we can practice for the race" Sonic whined.

"Life isn't all about racing. This race isn't everything" Knuckles sternly said. Sonic rolled his eyes. He fell asleep to take a nap. He was woken up by a loud beeping.

"What the hell?" he asked, stumbling to his feet. Knuckles was standing by the cryogenic tube. He had a slight smirk on his face. Sonic quickly stumbled over to the tube.

"How'll she react?" he asked.

"We'll explain" Knuckles responded. With a loud hiss, the cryogenic tube opened. Maria slowly emerged. Sonic and Knuckles were awe struck, almost as if they just witnessing the second coming of Jesus Christ. She looked around, confused.

"Where am I? How long was I out? And, who are you?" she asked.

"You're still on the ARK. You've been frozen in that cryo tube for 56 years. They're gone. Shadow is still alive and doing pretty well for himself" Knuckles told her.

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog. This is my buddy Knuckles. Knuckles the echidna" Sonic chimed in, introducing themselves to her. She giggled.

"So, you referenced Shadow earlier. How has he been?" she asked.

"He's 21 physically. He was discovered by your cousin and his shady associated six years ago" Sonic said. They told her everything. She was crushed.

"56 years I was frozen. 56 years I've waited. All I wanted was him to do good, for the better of the world" she said.

"Look. We know he's a good guy. He doesn't seem genuine 98% of the time. Maybe with your return, we can put him on our side" Knuckles told her. She smiled at that. Sonic looked pleased with the idea.

"We must head back. Let's head to the pod" Sonic told them. They went back to the surface. Maria was impressed with the Intrepid. Since it only had two seats, Tails was waiting with the Caterham S7 at the launch pad.

"We'll meet at Sparky's diner later to discuss the plan" Sonic told Knuckles and Maria. And with that, they rode off into the night.


	5. The Plan Once Again

Shadow kicked the wall. He was angry. Rouge and Eggman sat before him, entertained by his anger.

"Why the hell do I bother? You just use me as a puppet anyway" he said. Rouge smiled wickedly. Eggman was twisted in his mind.

"We need you, Shadow. We need you to win for us" Rouge said seductively. Shadow was so angry, he couldn't breathe. He could only pant loudly. Rouge ran her fingers down Shadow's abs.

"Listen, Big Black. We need you. I need you" she said. Shadow looked uncomfortable. He shuddered while she seductively ran her fingertips down his back.

"Please. I don't want your goddamn money. I just want to be a race car driver. Not your puppet" he said. Eggman laughed.

"Listen, you will follow my orders. Or I will have Axel take you out of existence forever" he said. Shadow gulped.

"I will explain the plan to get the Arctic Chaos Emerald one more time" Rouge said. Shadow sat down on the floor with his face in his hands as the plan was being spoken to him.


	6. You Can Try

"Are you having fun?" Jeremy asked Antonio. Antonio was running pretty well in his brand new Alfa Romeo 4C. Jeremy was running a Jaguar XJ220 with various aftermarket parts. Both cars were pretty fast, but they weren't expecting themselves to win.

"I sure am!" Antonio exclaimed. He was having the most fun he's had in years. He remembered his happy, carefree life. But, that was all shattered when he crashed his car while racing Formula 1 in Catalonia. The impact was so bad, he was stuck in a coma for two years. He spent the last three trying to rehabilitate from that crash.

"I don't think you can accomplish this mission, but I think we should just do it for us" Antonio said to Jeremy. Jeremy shrugged.

"I still want to see what I can do. It'll be fun to race again, but I still have those broken ties to mend" Jeremy said, walking away. Antonio, with his tie dye bandana and silver earring, stood watching Jeremy drive off from the practice facility. He shook his head.

"You wish" he muttered.


	7. Buck

It was about 3 days until the Ice Cap Race. Sonic and his friends moved to where the race was being held. It would begin in Iceland and end in Greenland. They were racing with Fleek, a polar bear who is considered one of the best ice racers in the world.

"You sure they're doing well?" Knuckles asked Fleek. The muscular polar bear shrugged.

"I guess they're doing okay. Amy is catching on the most" he answered.

"You're going to be tough competition for all of us. It's something we can't for!" Sonic exclaimed. Fleek laughed a big, hearty laugh and walked towards his car, a purple and black 1993 Chrysler Thunderbolt.

"Hey, Knux! When are you going to remember leg day?" Fleek called out as he climbed in his car.

"What's leg day?" Knuckles asked. Fleek let out another loud, hearty laugh before driving off.

"He's very friendly" Sonic said. Knuckles agreed. They began walking to the garages where the others were.

"Tails, come with us. There's something we need to tell you" Sonic said, walking up to Tails. Confused, Tails followed Sonic and Knuckles.

"An old friend wants to meet you" Knuckles said.

"Who?" Tails asked.

"Antonio Mucciolio. He called me on my cell phone to tell me" Sonic explained. He told Tails how Antonio kind of disappeared after the crash during the Catalonia Grand Prix. Tails was asking questions about Antonio, until they met him.

"Hey, I see you cut your hair" Knuckles said.

"I decided to do something different. I'm 33 now" Antonio said. He remembered the days where his long hair made him look like the guy who sang Rico Suave. Tails enjoyed Antonio.

"I like coming back. I'm having more fun now than I've had in years!" he exclaimed.

"Glad you're back! We met you through Jeremy all those years ago" Sonic said. Knuckles motioned to the Jaguar XJ220 in the next garage. The driver, with a dusty old cowboy hat, seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation. Antonio took notice.

"This is Buck Craig. He's a protégé of my own" he told them. Buck lifted up the cowboy hat, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"It's Marlboro Black Ice. My personal favorite" Buck said in a Southern accent. He spoke to them and seemed friendly, but something seemed off with Buck and Antonio.


	8. Chapter 8

Shadow was overlooking the course before the start. Rouge walked up to him. He looked glumly at her.

"They've marked the course. The emerald could be anywhere" he said, turning to her. Rouge smiled.

"Perfect" the buxom bat said. Shadow shook his head.

"I don't want to do this" he said flatly.

"You will" she said. Shadow looked at the gray Mazda Miatas that Rouge and Axel would be driving. Axel was a water buffalo who was a man of action. When he spoke, it was an event. Shadow walked away, getting ready for the start of the race tomorrow.

. . .

It was the next day. The drivers were lining up for the Ice Cap Race. 88 drivers lined up in twenty-two rows of four. Sonic was in the middle of the third row, with Tails to his left and a De Tomaso Pantera to his right. Knuckles was in the second spot, with Antonio on the pole. Maria was dressed all in white, with black gloves and boots. She had all her hair tucked up in the helmet and wore blackout goggles.

"You think you're disguised well?" Tails asked her. She giggled.

"I think so" she replied. Antonio hopped in his car, wearing a driving suit that looked a giant Spanish flag. Starting 4th was Jeremy, in guise as Buck. Shadow was sitting somewhere in the middle of the field.

"I'm on standby. Let me know when you are ready" Shadow said to Rouge over the radio. Sonic was cracking jokes with Tails. Starting behind Tails was Sticks. The race was going to go well.

"It's time to get ready! Hahaha!" Tails exclaimed. The Racing Commissioner called for all drivers to get to their cars.

"It's time" Knuckles said, rubbing his steering wheel. The engines revved in a loud symphony. The starting lights flashed red. Amy was staring intensely ahead.

"Are you ready?" Rouge asked Shadow over the radio.

"Yes" Shadow replied. He floored it in his NSX and raced through the gaps between the other cars on the grid. Axel and Rouge raced out onto the course from an access tunnel in the grandstands.

"Whoa! Who's that?" Antonio asked.

"It's Shadow" Tails replied.

"He will never get a head start on Sticks! After him!" Sticks yelled. In a flash, they raced off before the green light. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Sticks, and Maria put the pedal to the metal and raced off after Shadow. Antonio went with, followed by Jeremy in his disguise as Buck. The remaining drivers sat motionless on the starting line, unsure of what to do.

"They're following me. Time to find the Arctic Emerald" Shadow said over the radio. They raced into an ice tunnel.


	9. Chapter 9

Rouge got her radio to connect to Axel.

"Unleash the spike balls" she said. Axel nodded and flipped a switch on his dash board. Both cars released small balls. Then, spikes were deployed from them. Amy Rose was the first in the tunnel.

"Spikes!" she yelled. She tried to avoid it, but she ran over the spike balls and slashed her tires. Amy spun into an ice stalagmite. The rest of them came in.

"Amy! Are you all right?" Sticks yelled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Tails fitted all our cars with self-repairing tires. Now, go win the race" she replied. Shadow looked behind him.

"They're coming out of the tunnel" he said. There was a slight bit joy in his voice, but it was well disguised.

"We're going aerial, Axel. Activate plane mode" Rouge said.

"No way. They can turn into planes!" Tails exclaimed. Rouge smiled wickedly as she launched a missile out from under the car. It blew up the ice peaks in the Ice Cap Zone, causing them to collapse and block the road.

"How are we supposed to get around this?" Knuckles asked. Sonic looked off the road, to a natural maze in the ice.

"We go off road" he said. He put the Cyclone in gear and jumped off the road into the maze. Tails shrugged at Antonio and they joined Sonic. Everyone else soon followed. They were snaking and sliding their way through. Sonic was playing the self-titled Stray Cats album on his stereo.

"Hold on. Let me take the lead. My car was designed for mazes. These mazes are called cities" Antonio said. He activated his satellite GPS and took the point.

"Found the exit!" he yelled. Quickly, they rejoined the road. Shadow was well ahead.

"Drop the mines" Rouge said. Axel and Rouge dropped the mines from their cars. Sonic was looking over at Tails.

"Take the point, Tails. Make sure the road is clear" Sonic instructed him. Shadow was eavesdropping on their radio transmissions.

"Detonate the bombs before they get here. I want to get the emerald and go home and I don't want them to get hurt" he said. Rouge laughed on the other end of the line.

"What you want does not matter" she said. Shadow slammed on the brakes and spun the car around. He floored it and began backtracking toward the mines.

"Tails! Stop!" he cried, but it was too late.


	10. Tails To The Rescue or Food For Thought

Tails ran over the mines, getting blown off the track. He activated the grappling hook and was able to hold on. Shadow slammed on the brakes and jumped out.

"What are you doing?" Rouge angrily asked. She flew her car in front of Shadow. He looked sternly at Rouge.

"I'm helping Sonic's best friend. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!" he yelled. Axel landed and climbed out. He pulled a gun.

"You must be destroyed" he said. Shadow looked shocked. He slowly backed towards Tails. Tails was knocked out cold.

"Tails! Tails!" Sonic was yelling over the radio.

"Is he okay?" Jeremy asked.

"The Caterham isn't answering. Something must be wrong" he replied. Sonic and his cohorts drove off. Shadow was walking on a nearby ledge. He kicked the gun out of Axels' hand. Axel threw a punch, which Shadow clumsily dodged. Tails was waking up.

"Axel, man. It doesn't have to be this way" Shadow said as he was pushed to the ledge. Tails was awoken by this commotion. He saw Axel rip up a chunk of ice and was about to throw it at Shadow.

"Whoa!" Tails exclaimed. He revved the engine. Tails was trying to save Shadow.

"Don't do this, Axel" Shadow said.

"You refuse to follow orders. You must be destroyed" Axel said robotically. Tails was frantically trying to turn the engine over.

"Come on. You don't have to do this!" Shadow shouted. Tails got the engine started.

"Success" he muttered to himself. He pressed the gas pedal, trying desperately to swing the car up. Shadow looked over as Tails swung it around, knocking Axel off the ledge. He fell down into the icy water below and didn't surface.

"Why did you help me?" Shadow asked.

"Not important. All that matters is your alive" he said. Tails spun around and raced off. Shadow ran out and hopped into the NSX. He revved the engine back up and chased after Tails. Rouge was furious.

"Why aren't you destroying him?" she angrily asked. Shadow sighed.

"He saved me. From you" he replied. Sonic and the rest came racing up the hill.

"Hey, there they are" Amy said over the radio.

"Let's get them!" Sonic exclaimed. Shadow noticed them in the rearview. He cracked a smile. Rouge went back to the ground and tried to stop Shadow, but it was too late and he raced off. Rouge quickly followed.

"Hey! Let's get them!" Sonic shouted over the radio.

"Yo, Buck. You don't seem to talk that much. Say something" Knuckles said. Jeremy perked up at this. He had been hanging in the back of the group with Antonio the whole race. He laughed over the radio.

"Just to prove I'm still alive, I'm going to win the race" he retorted to Knuckles. He quickly punched it and sped through the group, and up to Rouge. He was able to get past her despite her best attempts to block and hot ahead of Shadow and Tails.

"I guess we can all learn something from Buck" Cream said over the radio. Knuckles quickly privatized the radio line between him and Sonic.

"He drives like Jeremy" he said.

"So?" Sonic asked.

"Where do you think he learned it?" he asked.

"I think that's some food for thought" Sonic answered.


	11. The Failed Reunion

Jeremy was far enough ahead to pull off the road for a minute. He needed to let everything run through his brain. He just exposed who he was by his driving style. The Mad Manga, a bosozoku Nissan Skyline R34, was hiding underneath the cloaking device he had on the Jaguar. Tails went whizzing by in the Caterham. A voice came over his radio.

"Buck! We lost contact. Just tell us where you're at" Sonic came over the radio. Jeremy flicked the switch and the Mad Manga appeared. He quickly put the car into gear and floored it back out onto the course. He was wearing the tie dye driving suit and "hippie" helmet (number on one side, American flag peace sign on the other). The Mad Manga was swung around to face the oncoming group. Sonic and Knuckles slammed on their brakes and quickly slid off the frozen track. The group came to a halt. Jeremy climbed out of the car. Sonic and Knuckles hopped out of theirs.

"Are you a ghost?" Sonic asked. Jeremy took his helmet off. Gone from him was the youthful energy and childlike innocence of the Jeremy of the past. Knuckles walked up and touched him.

"I'm real" Jeremy said. Antonio got out and ran over.

"I should've stopped you!" he shouted. "Why I agreed to your horrid plan is beyond my comprehension!"

"Antonio, pipe down! I got this!" he yelled back. Antonio climbed back in his car. He was angry. Sticks and Amy approached Jeremy. Sonic and Knuckles stood there, not knowing what to feel and what to say.

"I've heard lots about you from them" Amy said to him. Jeremy smiled. But, it quickly faded.

"I want you and Sticks to keep going. Take Maria and Antonio with you" he said. Amy nodded and motioned for Sticks to get back in her car. Antonio and Maria revved their engines and raced off. Amy and Sticks followed.

"So, you didn't die?" Sonic asked.

"Correct" Jeremy replied. Knuckles and Sonic had looks of disbelief and anger on their faces.

"You abandoned us!" Knuckles angrily cried. Jeremy knew this was coming and wasn't taken aback.

"Yeah, you did" Sonic said, seconding Knuckles. Jeremy was stammering, trying to get a word out. Sonic and Knuckles got in their cars and raced off. Jeremy got into the Mad Manga and tried to go after them.

"Did it work out?" Antonio asked over the radio.

"No. They're angry" he answered.

"Rightfully so" Antonio said. Jeremy turned his car around and began heading backwards.

"I'm dropping out of the race. I'll try and talk to them later" Jeremy said to Antonio. And with that, Jeremy dropped out of the Ice Cap Race.


	12. Chapter 12

Sonic and Knuckles were fuming. They were upset that Jeremy faked his death and abandoned them. Antonio came over the radio.

"Jeremy dropped out. He wants to talk to you two later" he said to them.

"He can shove it" Sonic said, obviously hurt by this. Meanwhile, Shadow was trying to escape Rouge.

"We need to find the Arctic Emerald" she angrily said over the radio.

"I'll find it. Just not for you" he shot back. Rouge was displeased by this response. She swung the Miata around and tried to knock Shadow out of the way. Tails was gaining on Shadow in the Caterham. He looked in his rearview and saw the rest of his group.

"Great timing! We need to catch them!" he yelled over the radio. Amy and Sticks hit the afterburners to get to Tails. Maria drafted with Amy to catch up. Antonio was bringing up the rear. Sonic and Knuckles came in a little bit later.

"I'll run you off the road to get that emerald!" Rouge hollered. Shadow was on the edge of going off. The emerald detector was going off. Rouge shoved him into a path off of the race course.

"I say we follow them" Amy said. Sonic snaked his way up through the group.

"I'll take the point" he said. He nabbed the lead and ran after Shadow and Rouge.

"They're gaining. Faster!" Rouge commanded. Shadow grit his teeth. Then, they ran out of road. Shadow pulled the emergency brake and slid to a stop, almost falling off the ledge. The brakes on the Miata failed, and Rouge jumped out. Shadow quickly climbed out of the NSX.

"I will get the Arctic Emerald, but you'll get it from me if you fight me" he said loudly to Rouge.

"There he is!" Sonic yelled. The group stopped their cars and got of them. Shadow ran off. Sonic ran after him.

"I need to get the emerald!" Shadow cried.

"A Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. The Arctic Emerald" Shadow replied. He looked at the emerald detector. He spun around and ran towards a patch in the ice. Quickly, Shadow tore the ice patch off and pulled out the Arctic Emerald. Rouge looked pleased at this.

"Amy, Sticks! Hold her back!" Knuckles shouted. Rouge spun around to Amy and Sticks charging her. She did a quick roundhouse kick to subdue Amy and plucked the boomerang Sticks threw right out of the air.

"Sticks won't go down easily!" Sticks shouted out. Rouge looked towards the sky as a familiar face arrived.

"Why hello. I see you've found the Arctic Emerald for me" Dr. Eggman said he arrived on the scene.

"I quit, Eggman" Shadow said to him.

"You can't quit on me!" he snapped back. Maria and Antonio approached Eggman. Knuckles looked over at Maria.

"Do it now" he mouthed at her. She took the helmet and blackout glasses off and let her hair flow. Shadow was stunned. He dropped the emerald, which Sonic scooped up.

"Give me the emerald. Now!" Rouge barked. Sonic looked over at Tails.

"Go long" he said, throwing the emerald to Tails. Tails jumped up and caught it with one hand. Eggman advanced on Tails.

"Give it to me" he snarled. Tails threw it into the passenger seat of the Catherham.

"Come and get it" he said defiantly. Eggman jumped out onto the ground. Maria ran over to him.

"Don't do this, Ivo!" she cried. However, her cry fell on deaf ears.

"Listen, you little brat! Give it to me, or you will suffer the consequences!" he yelled. Tails pulled a wrench out of his tool jacket.

"Try me" he said. Eggman lunged at him, but Tails hit him in the head with the wrench. He grabbed the emerald and tossed it to Knuckles. He ran with it over to the ledge.

"Do you want this?" Knuckles asked. He held it over the edge.

"I'll drop it" he said. Rouge and Eggman were staring at Knuckles with an intense fire in their eyes. Maria took a step forward. Shadow rushed over to her. Knuckles was about to drop the emerald. Antonio had no idea what to do, he got back in his car. Eggman stepped forward.

"Do you really want it?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes, yes I do" Eggman replied. Knuckles dropped it off the cliff. Eggman lunged at him in a fit of rage. Knuckles side stepped and Eggman did a 180 and avoided falling off the ledge. Maria was pleading with him.

"Ivo, stop! Don't do it!" she begged. Eggman looked at her.

"My fair cousin, whether you are really alive or you are merely an illusion stemming from an overactive imagination, I will not stop in my goal!" he exclaimed. Rouge was fighting with Sticks and Amy.

"You will never beat us" Amy said. Rouge smirked.

"You take me for a fool, don't you?" she smugly asked. Sticks jumped off the ice wall and onto Rouge's head. Antonio turned his car on and drove off.

"Antonio! Come back!" Sonic yelled. But, it was too late and Antonio was going to join Jeremy and drop out of the Ice Cap Race. Rouge was trying to get Sticks off her head. She was clawing at Rouge's eyes, and the buxom bat couldn't take it. Tails beat Rouge with a wrench, and that was it. She was down. Maria was shocked at this display of brutality. Eggman was surprised and stepped back. Shadow walked up next to Maria.

"I never Tails could be so violent" he said. Maria and Eggman nodded. Shadow turned away and whispered something into his wristwatch. The group turned on Eggman.

"Meet your doom, doctor" Shadow said.

"I won't go down that easily!" he exclaimed. Shadow pointed behind Eggman. He turned. The CIA was there.

"Dr. Ivo Robotnik, this is the Central Intelligence Agency. Please surrender for your list of several crimes, including extortion, robbery, theft, and unlawful human experimentation" an agent said through a megaphone. Eggman turned to him.

"You will never take me alive!" he proclaimed. He then jumped off the cliff. Sonic reached out to grab him but missed. Into the icy water he plunged.

"No! Ivo!" Maria cried. Shadow was trying to hold Maria back.

"No, Maria. It's okay. I'm here. Calm down" he was saying. The CIA helicopter flew away, leaving them alone in the middle of the Ice Cap Zone.


	13. Ending of the Trilogy

It was over. The Arctic Emerald was gone, so was Eggman. Rouge lay in a heap on the ground. She still had a pulse, but she was going to be left for dead.

"We don't need her, anyway" Shadow said. Maria got into the passenger seat of the NSX, abandoning the Lancia Gamma she was in. They made their way back to the main course.

"We have 3.2 miles to the finish. Let's go!" Knuckles said. They raced to the finish. Charging through the frozen ice, they headed to the finish line in Reykjavik. Knuckles was side by side with Amy for the lead. He got it heading through the streets of Reykjavik. He crossed the finish line in first. Standing there was Evan Finnegan, the racing commissioner. He stood there with Nikki, Little John, Fleek, Antonio, and Jeremy. Knuckles rolled his window down.

"Did I win?" he asked. Evan Finnegan approached him.

"We called the race after the 0 jumped the start" he explained. Knuckles punched the steering wheel. Amy raced by, kicking snow through the down window on Knuckles car. He growled as the rest of the group went racing by. He got out and he and Sonic walked up to Jeremy.

"We'll never forgive you for what you did" Sonic said. Jeremy nodded.

"I understand" he said. He was going to finish his thought when Knuckles interrupted him.

"We can try and be friends again" he said. Jeremy smiled. Antonio looked at Jeremy.

"I guess I was wrong. You did it" he said.

"I didn't finish mending my bond with these guys yet" he responded. Tails was called over.

"I'm your brother, Miles" he said.

"Just call me Tails" Tails said. There was a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of stuff to do. While in a cafe in Reykjavik, Sonic showed a newspaper article to everyone.

"The Race Around The World is coming up. We should enter" Sonic proclaimed. Everyone looked at him.

"I'll join you, Sonic" Tails said. Everyone else didn't want to enter. Sonic and Tails quickly ran out of the cafe, leaving everyone behind. They got into their cars and raced off.

"We're going to join the Race Around The World and win it!" Tails proclaimed.

"We will, little buddy. We will" Sonic replied. And with that, the main Super Sonic Racing trilogy has concluded.


End file.
